


crystal secrets

by hanyus, space (shimyeol)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Feels, Bittersweet Ending, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Homesickness, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Keith is deaf-mute and violinist, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Sign Language, Summer, Summer Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 05:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11913807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanyus/pseuds/hanyus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimyeol/pseuds/space
Summary: Lance loved everything about Keith: he and his slow movements on the instrument. He and his way of bringing closer his ear to the violin. He and his way of smiling with soft. He and his closed eyelids. He and his tranquility before the world... despite not being able to hear it.Because it was always darker before dawn.





	crystal secrets

**Author's Note:**

> **BEFORE READING:** From now on, I'll no longer be writing in this account, so I'll move to [hanyus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanyus). I'll continue writing Voltron stories there. Thank you!
> 
> Story's note: In this small story, the current age of the protagonists will be between 17 and 19. There will be steps in time, until arriving at the present time. Little by little, is told a story full of emotions and feelings.
> 
> Enjoy it!

Fleeting thoughts.

 Yearning glances.

 Latent feelings.

  _And crystal secrets._

This corrupted him inside. Like if the sky of that little village never lit. Like a violin that lacks its strings. Like a room in constant silence. Like the end of an endless road.

  _Because it was always darker before dawn._

 

* * *

 

He didn't need to close his eyes to feel the cold water on his feet, even beyond his ankles. But, in the same way, he closed them; he allowed himself to be caught by the freedom of the sea for only a few seconds of peace, flooded by an unbearable pain. Then, he thought of him. In Keith Kogane.

He knew that his heart would have a small crack, which would increase with the passage of time. He knew that his tears would be carried away by the wave that was returning to the sea, and resumed its course by the gentle breeze. He knew that the sun was already hiding on the horizon. And Lance was very sure, that _he_ wouldn't return… soon.

Because it was always darker before dawn.

 

* * *

 

“ _Dunkelheit;_ darkness.” Lance whispered, tracing that word with his index finger.

The page of that book was always new. But, the touch and the texture, it seemed to him of the oldest. Somehow, it moved him into a totally different epoch. It wasn't surprise for his classmates that saw him walk the aisles with that book in his hand. As nor it was surprise for they that Lance had always whispered to himself each and every one of the German words. He always liked to read new books, even though they were at the beginning of the exams week.

Or, maybe, it was just a distraction.

“ _Mond;_ moon.”

A distraction.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance recognized the different floorboards of the aisle he walked through; and smiled unconsciously, raising his gaze from the book. He closed it carefully and tucked it into his backpack, accelerating his steps a little.

There was only one reason for the brunette to bend the commissures of his lips that way. Just one reason why his walk would intensify. And only one so that his heart would accelerate, and hurt. He was listening it. That melody that only one person could create. He was listening it…

_The sound of the violin._

Lance closed his eyes for a moment, and as he approached that particular classroom, he began to review the signs with his hands. It was long words, some short words, and slow movements. He was surprised, remembering how before he could be so clumsy with sign language. But, back then, the time was on his side, and he learned it in less than three months.

At least that time, the luck was on his side.

He dropped his hand, and leaned the other against the door frame, pausing in the threshold. That was when he felt the warmth of the moment, accompanied by a small pain.

“ _Licht;_ light.” He whispered, seeing how Keith was sitting on a chair, his back to him, playing the violin in a passionate and calm way.

The warm rays of the sun seeped through the windows of the only empty classroom, showing Lance how well it always fit the peaceful profile of Keith. There he was watching his light: Keith Kogane. As always, the sweet and emotive melody that came out of the violin, drew him into a new Keith feeling. With each piece, Lance discovered a new part of him. And that had always fascinated him.

He stared at him for a few seconds. Keith and his slow movements on the instrument. Keith and his way of bringing closer his ear to the violin. Keith and his way of smiling with soft. He and his closed eyelids. He and his tranquility before the world. Despite not being able to hear it.

Lance _never_ liked the sad sound of the violin; but…

He walked into the classroom in silence, and when Keith pulled his ear away from the instrument, and played the last note, Lance approached him and gave him a short touch on the shoulder. The black haired teen felt it, and let the violin rest on his legs. He looked up very slowly and, in the same way, gave a soft smile to Lance.

“As always, it was a glorious melody, Keith.” He made signs with his hands, while he said it in a low voice.

Keith looked at him slowly.

“ _Thanks, Lance._ ” He moved his hands quietly, closing his eyes in a new and small smile.

Lance wondered… when he fell in love with Keith Kogane.

 

* * *

 

It was three summers ago. Back then, Lance was fourteen.

A fortuitous day, when the sky was being flooded by the darkness of the night, the climate in that small village changed from one second to other. A heavy rain caught Lance in the middle of the long road to his home. He had stayed late in the institute greenhouse, helping Allura and a new boy to plant a beautiful red rose. But, not even for an instant, they thought the recent rain would catch them unexpectedly. It was summer, it was expected that something like that wouldn't happen. And yet, it happened.

Lance ran as fast as he could, drenched, and with his shoes full of water. The splash that emitted his shoes was at a certain point funny, but to the brunette didn't worry it in the least. The main thing was always the same: he had to take care of his health, because such a drastic change in the weather had never been good.

He passed next to some white fences, which forbade the passage to the beach below. Many adults made them believe that if they crossed, you would fall into the sand, and it would be very difficult to get out; simple overprotective lies, because yes there was a way out. Lance used to play a lot rolling on the sand, and it is for that reason that, despite the rain, he couldn’t help looking at the sea. Where the waves moved wildly. Where the sand looked like mere and dark mud. Where the breeze made the raindrops dance…

But then, Lance managed to visualize something else down there, and stopped his steps in dry. Total, he was all soaking wet.

He narrowed his eyes, and realized that was a figure of a person on the shore. A blurred silhouette, with his back to him, and facing the sea. Lance was scared. He felt his heart rumble against his chest, and his legs moved on their own. He ran, but not toward his home, but toward the beach.

Lance took the narrow descent that was near the fences, and accelerated with speed, being careful when sliding because of the mud. As soon as his feet sank into the sand, he tried with all his might not to fall, and keep running.

“HEY!” Lance screamed. But the boy didn't listen him. “HEY, GET AWAY FROM THE WATER! IT'S DANGEROUS!” He tried again. But, once again, the boy didn't listen him.

Lance managed to get close to him, and gave a quick glance at the boy's feet, which were in the water. He grunted softly, and put both hands on the opposing shoulders, scaring the boy a little.

“What are you doing here alone, with this rain!? Come on, come with me, run!” His voice barely heard, the heavy rain and the sound of the waves covered her.

The other stared at him as if he were looking at a ghost. But, Lance, not waiting an answer from the boy, took him by the hand and carried him with him.

While they ran along the road, the brunette heard a second splash different from his; and it was there that he turned his head slightly, to see that the boy was barefoot. _The situation couldn’t be worse, right?_ Lance looked up again, but he blinked, noting how the boy tightened the grab on his hand. That put him off for a moment; because at first he thought he would put some kind of resistance, carry him wherever he carry him.

When they arrived at Lance's house, his mother had a big surprise. She was about to pick up her son, worried about the sudden rain. But at no point did she imagine that her son would bring a new friend: both totally soaked and filled with mud.

She told the guest to take a shower first, however, the dark-eyed boy didn't move from his site. She grimaced in confusion, thinking he hadn't heard her well.

“Go and take a bath, honey. You are our guest.” She stroked his arm affectionately.

He looked at the woman's lips, and nodded.

She wiped his feet a little, before he climbed the stairs. Lance led him the way to the bathroom, gave him some of his clothes - close to his size, of course - and left him a huge towel.

“Hurry up, or I'll froze.” Lance said, rubbing his arms to up and down. “Nah, it's a joke.” He shrugged, then he turned, whispering to himself, shivering, “Although _yes,_ yes, _hurry up,_ please.”

The gods had heard him, somehow. The boy came out a few minutes later, and Lance stepped into the shower as soul that carries the devil.

When he finished, put on a warm and clean clothes, and he went to his room, where the boy was already, sitting on the floor. His mother would have told him where his room was. Lance noticed that the boy was drying his hair with a towel, and then the brunette sighed. His guest hadn't said a single word since coming his home. _It was strange._

Lance squatted down, right in front of the boy, and began to dry him his hair. The other hadn't stopped him, he just stared at him.

“What the hell were you doing in the beach, idiot?” Lance scolded him softly. The boy looked at his lips. “At least you could tell me something, isn't it?” This time, Lance noticed that the boy hadn’t stopped looking at his mouth. “Why do you look _my lips_ that way? I hope you haven’t intention of _kissing_ me.” He teased, but he blushed a little.

The boy stepped back a centimeter per second, curious.

Then, what he did next, sparked an unusual jumble of sensations inside Lance:

Slowly and quietly, the boy began to move his hands in the air; as if to indicate him, as if to draw, as if to say him something. Something Lance couldn't understand.

Lance grimaced, knowing at the instant what was that language. Without say a word, the brunette got up and went quickly to his parents' room. He looked for the shelf they had a book in particular: _Sign Language. For deaf and deaf-mute._ At that moment, Lance thought; _he was deaf, or deaf-mute?_

Never before has he imagined something like this.

He shook his head slightly, and returned to his room. The boy looked curiously at the new book in his hand. But Lance, now in his world, searched through the pages of the book the signs the other had made. He struggled to find them, but he did, to form the prayer:

“ _Why should I kiss you?_ ” They meant.

Lance felt his cheeks burn, and looked at the boy suddenly.

“F-Forget the kiss, I was kidding.” He murmured, looking away.

There, for the first time, was when he heard the boy's charming laugh. The first and beautiful sound that came out of him. So angelic. So peaceful. And there, for the first time, was when Lance had a fleeting thought: the calming it that would be to hear his laughter, every day.

Lance smiled, and the boy, ending little by little his melody, also did.

“Um, what’s your name?” Lance asked.

He looked at his lips again, and raised his gaze slightly, looking for something in the room. Lance followed his gaze, and realized what he wanted, watching him look at a notebook.

“Can you write your name?” To his question, the other nodded. “Excuse… are you deaf?” To his other curious question, the boy nodded again, forming with his hands the figure of a baby. Lance understood him without even looking at what it meant. “Since you were born? So… you're deaf-mute, right?” And the boy nodded again.

Lance pressed his lips gently, stretching the arm to pick up the notebook. He handed it to the boy with a pen, and he began to write, very slowly, his name. In just over seconds, he showed it to him.

«Keith Kogane»

Lance smiled without realizing it. It was a very nice name, really.

Keith tugged lightly on his shirt, causing the brunette to look at him again. He began to move his hands again, and Lance had to search his signs quickly.

“ _How is your name?_ ” Keith made signs.

Lance didn't know how to tell him. If he wrote it on paper, would Keith know what it would mean? If he looked it up in the sign language book, would he know how to move his hands well? Lance tried both, and the one that really worked, was the first. Honestly, he was being clumsy when it came to sign language. Because, well, it was his _first time._

Lance _never_ liked the sign language; but…

“ _Lance._ ” Keith moved his hands shortly after, looking at the notebook where the brunette had written his name, “ _McClain_ ” Smiled, looking at him.

And Lance wondered how he could read it so well. Later, he knew that Keith had learned - with the help of his parents - some names; knowing how to write them.

Throughout the night, Lance and Keith had been talking, little by little, about them. For Lance it was easier to talk, since Keith read him the lips perfectly. For Keith it was also easy to communicate; however, he began to moved his hands very slowly for Lance to had time to find what they meant.

Lance found out that Keith was two years older than he, and he understood why he had never seen him before: their classes were separated by floors. Too, he knew why Keith was on the beach that night, under that heavy rain. And guess what… it was because he liked to watch the _nightfall._

Lance didn't like the nightfall; the sun was hiding, and gave rise to the darkness.

Because it was always darker before dawn.

And for the first time, he longed to look at Keith in another way.

 

* * *

 

Since that day, being with Keith changed his routine a lot. Every day was something new.

When Lance knew that he played the violin, it made his curiosity increase in that topic. _Because, how could he hear it, with his disability?_ At that time, Keith couldn't explain it to him, because the brunette didn't understand him exactly.

And yet, one day, Lance was studying the sign language very hard. He stopped in front of Keith, and began to move his hands with the words he had memorized. Lance had never told him before, but he was very good at studying anything that might interest him. And communicating with Keith, interested him _more_ than anything.

“Now I understand you.” Lance moved his hands with some clumsiness. He remembered the following words to signal them in a slow movement, forming a grimace, “A bit.”

Keith smiled sweetly, and moved his hands slowly. Lance knew its meaning, although the last word had to look at it in the book.

“ _Then, I'll now be able to answer your question._ ”

Keith explained him, very slowly, how he could feel the music he created on the violin. Because, although he couldn’t hear, Keith told him that it wasn't all the sounds… but _colors._ He showed him his violin, and under each string there was a thin line of different colors. Keith had associated the music, the noise and the sound, with dark and clear colors.

Lance was fascinated. He wondered how that was possible. He wondered how saw and _heard_ the world Keith. He wondered so many things, that every day, something latent in Keith attracted him. More and more.

The next day, Keith wanted to show him something, and took him away with him to the institute. But Lance realized one thing: it was getting dark. And Keith loved the nightfall. But instead, he…

In the lonely and dark aisles of the building, Keith led him to a specific classroom, and Lance noticed that the floorboards were different on the third floor. Keith came in followed by Lance, and took the cover of an instrument, beginning to open it. The brunette, on the other hand, stared around. The classroom was completely empty. It was all clear, including the three desks near the blackboard. The curtains of the windows weren't threw. And apparently, Lance knew that only they were inside the institute.

There was never much vigilance in this small village.

 _A sweet note,_ made Lance's thoughts fly away. He looked at Keith and saw him sitting in a chair, with a violin resting carefully on his shoulder, and a beautiful smile drawn on his lips. Keith approached his ear to the violin, placed the bow on the strings, and made a graceful path of notes, forming a sublime melodic piece.

The sweet and emotive melody that came out of the violin, drew him into a new Keith feeling. Something new. Something passionate. Something troubled. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Keith and his slow movements on the instrument. Keith and his way of bringing closer his ear to the violin. Keith and his way of smiling with soft. He and his closed eyelids. He and his tranquility before the world. Despite not being able to hear it.

Lance _never_ liked the sad sound of the violin; but…

The fingers that trapping each string, moved very slowly, and Keith extended the last chord, the last note, finishing the melody with soft.

 _There it was,_ surely, when he realized that he fell in love with Keith.

But luck, back then, wasn't on his side.

Lance felt the warmth and sadness of the moment, when Keith signaled the following:

“ _In a year, I'll go to Tokyo._ ” Keith raised his gaze subtly to him, leaving the instrument on his legs. “ _I want to be someone else._ ”

And Lance felt it, that sharp pain in his chest.

Lance looked out the window, and looked out into the dark night sky. His eyes got wet, but he didn't let the tears fall.

Their words, always so opposite. As if they said themselves the opposite, than they wanted to know.

The _dawn._ The _nightfall._

To _stay._ To _leave._

To _love him._ To _love him, as a friend._

Because it was always darker before dawn.

 

* * *

 

It had been a year since Keith told him he will go to Tokyo, to form his future. And from that year, Lance began to learn words in German, not knowing very well why. Maybe, because of the desperation to fill something. Maybe, for being distracted with the study. Maybe… for not thinking too much about his departure.

Now, every time he saw him there, sitting in his chair, while gently touching the violin, Lance couldn’t help thinking about it.

Because, as a secret, he hid his feelings.

“As always, it was a glorious melody, Keith.” He made signs with his hands, while he said it in a low voice.

Keith looked at him slowly.

“ _Thanks, Lance._ ” He moved his hands quietly, closing his eyes in a new and small smile.

Keith was putting the violin in its holster, while Lance was waiting for him at the door, making the attempt not to take out his book of German.

The luck, this time, might be on his side; in a very twisted way.

Lance frowned, confused. He was looking at Allura in the next-door classroom, she was alone, and her hands desperately covering her face. Then, Lance knew something was wrong, when he saw her rub her eyes. He had known Allura since they were children, and she didn't usually cry. As much as the situation might get worse, she didn’t usually cry.

Lance gave a small jolt when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and smiled very sadly at Keith.

“I'm sorry, I have to go talk with a friend. Can you waiting for me on the fence lawn?”

Keith stared at him for a few seconds, before he nodded. Lance thanked him, and said goodbye to Keith to see him in a few minutes. Then he came in the empty classroom and closed the sliding door. He didn't want anyone to see Allura cry.

The woman didn't even lift her head to look at him, but Lance approached her and sat at the desk in front of her. He looked at his friend with much regret. And for some reason, he was feeling the same pain as Allura.

Allura didn’t take long to look up. Lance swore that her tears were much like the waves of that rainy night, when he met Keith for first time.

“Are you crying, for the reason I believe?” Lance asked her softly.

Allura rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, slurping by the nose. She looked at him, her eyelids totally red.

“It's possible.” Her whisper drowned in the air.

Lance tightened his lips on a thin line. He never liked Shiro's topic, really.

Shiro had come to the village three summers ago, to spend his last life in the wild, instead of the dead buildings of the city. He went blind by an accident, and in some way, he was never good at expressing his emotions. But Allura came into his life, and she told Lance that, even though Shiro didn't correspond her feelings, even though the words _I like you_ and _I'll be by your side_ calcinated her throat, he knew that Allura would continue saying them. Because she loved Shiro, with all her soul. And yet… Shiro wouldn't correspond her feelings, because his life was turning off, and his emotions were always neutral.

Because Shiro _didn't want_ to hurt Allura.

“You shouldn't keep saying him that.” Lance spoke, looking at her with sorrow. “Ignore the feeling for a moment, Allura. You should hide it as a secret.”

Allura rubbed her eyes again, biting hard her lower lip.

“You hide them very well, don’t you, Lance?” Her tone wasn’t malicious, but tired. “But you know what?” Allura looked at Lance, her lip trembling. “Your secrets are crystal, and they will end up broken.”

Allura removed a tear, rubbing her eyes once more. Lance stared at her for a few moments, before saying, with a tone full of total softness:

“And your words of fire, so stop burning yourself.”

Allura sobbed at that point, and Lance felt a deep pressure in his heart.

Later, when he was a good time next to his childhood friend, hearing her little groans and hiccups, Lance got up from the chair, seeing that Allura had already calmed down.

“Thank you…” She whispered, with her voice very cracking.

Lance smiled, a rather distressed smile. Because, though her throat burned, would Allura keep saying those words?

She looked at the window, and Lance turned away.

That words didn’t do her any good.

Lance opened the sliding door and closed it behind him, walking quietly by the aisles. Arriving at the entrance of the institute, he was surprised to see Keith standing there, and waiting for him. Lance had told him to wait for him on the fence lawn… not there.

“What are you doing here?”

“ _I wanted to walk with you,_ ” Keith moved his hands, each movement in a quiet and slow way. “ _I want to tell you something._ ”

Lance looked at him a little confused. What, exactly?

Keith started to walk, without saying him anything yet. Lance walked beside him, both leaving the small student enclosure. They were just like that for a few minutes, walking in silence. Lance's heart and thoughts were a chaos. But not as much as Keith's thoughts.

Keith raised a hand in the air, and Lance looked at him, knowing he was going to moved his hands.

“ _Tomorrow I'm going to Tokyo._ ”

Something inside Lance wasn’t right. It wasn’t right at all.

 _Please stop,_ he wanted to say Keith, biting his lip hard.

“ _Today I knew that tomorrow will be the only day that the train that will take me to Tokyo, take that route._ ” Keith made signs, but at no moment looked at Lance.

Lance wasn't breathing well. What happened, with this news? What happened, with this pain?

“ _I want to be someone else._ ”

 _Are you still thinking about that?,_  Lance thought, looking down and clenching his fists.

But he had to look at Keith for see his signs.

“ _This village limits me._ ” He moved his hands, and it was just at that moment that Lance stopped his steps.

Keith hadn't noticed, and kept walking, slowly forward.

Lance had felt this sensation before. This unbearable pain. Because he knew that Keith, very soon… was going to…

“ _Verschwinden;_ disappear.” He whispered, looking at his back.

_Ah… yeah… this pain, so dark._

And yet, he didn’t want to delimit Keith's way. It was his future, and Lance would be fine with that. _Or so he thought._

Before Keith turned around, Lance hurried and stood beside him. Until without realizing it, they arrived at the place; the lawn under an apple-tree, near the white fences. Near the beach.

Lance sat on the lawn, with his back resting on the tree trunk. To his surprise, Keith lay down and rested his head on the thighs of the brunette, closing his eyelids. Lance wondered how Keith could seem so calm, while his heart was just the opposite. He looked down and gazed out at the guy's face. Lance looked at every faction of his skin, every softness of his outline. So beautiful. So perfect. So painful.

Lance tried to smile, but there was a strange grimace, and his expression twisted. He was hurt. And he _didn't know_ how to lessen that pain. He _didn't know_ what to do.

Keith, still with his eyes closed, tugged at Lance's t-shirt, so that he could see him signaling:

“ _Thank you for being by my side this last day._ ” He moved his hands slowly. Then, Keith smiled, keeping his eyes closed. “ _You know? I considered you my best friend from the day we met. From the day you took me by the hand, and we ran under the rain._ ”

Keith gave a small yawn. His movements had been somewhat sleepy, and Lance knew that he would soon fall asleep.

Lance stared at him, remembering every word he had signaled, and experiencing for the first time what it was to suffer for love. Because his heart wanted to explode. Because his tears wanted to spill.

_But you know what? Your secrets are crystal, and they will end up broken._

Because his secrets wanted to break.

 _No,_ Lance thought, his lower lip trembling, _I considered you something else, from the day we met. From the day I took you by the hand, and we ran under the rain. No, I'm not your best friend. Because I love you._

Lance let rest one hand on Keith's hair, and began stroking it with affection.

_Because I love you._

“ _Ich liebe dich;_ I love you.” Lance whispered, leaning slowly, to Keith's lips.

And when he felt his lips on Keith's lips, when he united them in a soft kiss, Lance knew that the crystal had broken.

_Because I love you, from the bottom of my heart._

A salty taste mixed in that kiss, and Lance separated from the opposing lips. It was his tears. The tears that had always wanted to come out. The secret he'd always wanted to break. Because he loved Keith.

Lance wiped the tears with his hands, and shortly after, he noticed that Keith hadn’t opened his eyes. He listened to his relaxed breathing, and realized that he had fallen asleep. Keith had… fallen asleep.

Everything was so opposite. As if they said themselves the opposite, than they wanted to know.

Because it was always darker before dawn.

 

* * *

 

At 8:30 p.m., the next day, Lance and Keith headed to the station. The train was to arrive in fifteen minutes. Shortly, Keith will form his future. In a few years, he was going to be someone else. And Lance, never wanted to delimit his way.

But it hurt him. The sound of the wheels of Keith's suitcase on the gravel of the station, it hurt him. And he didn't realize, how difficult it was for Lance to let him go. He didn't realize, how dark the sky would become in the nightfall. The sun was going to hide, and it hurt Lance. This corrupted him inside.

Keith slowed his steps and, turning slowly, left the suitcase to the side and looked at Lance. He had been wondering all the way to here, why Lance had those bags under his eyes. Keith wondered if the brunette hadn't been able to sleep well. He wondered if he had had a nightmare. He wondered so many things…

Lance wasn’t looking at him, his gaze was fixed to the side, with his head turned to the same side. He was looking at the other five people who were going to get on the train, saying goodbye to their relatives. Lance’s eyes looked _so_ sad.

At that moment, Keith looked down at Lance's lips. The brunette wasn't talking, but he looked at them, anyway. Keith licked his lips, very slowly. As if he still felt that salty taste of a tear. As if he still felt the softness of the moment. Because he was _always_ awake in that kiss, flooded by Lance's tears.

And in spite of that, he didn’t want to stay. This village limited him, and he wanted to be someone in a future. Because…

The noise of the train wheels on the tracks made him stop thinking. Keith came out of his thoughts, and looked at the sad smile that was forming his dearest _friend._ Keith pressed his lips in a tense line, and he didn't hesitate to hug Lance.

Lance wanted to cry right there, between Keith's shoulder and neck. He wanted to cry, but he didn't. _His warm arms…_ would he feel them, again? He wanted to tell his heart not to suffer, because his love was going to go away, to form his future, to work in being someone important. Because he knew Keith didn't want to stay.

The hug lasted a lot. It was eternally magical for Lance. As if Keith knew he needed it. As if that could fill his heart. As if that could make him feel better.

But then, the hug broke, mixing with Keith's words and signs:

“ _Thank you so much for everything, Lance._ ” He smiled, a hurt and distressed smile. “ _Thank you for supporting my decision._ ”

 _In spite of wishing that you stayed,_ Lance thought.

“I hope we see each other again.” The brunette moved his hands.

 _Not. I know we will not,_ Lance felt his eyes got wet.

Keith smiled with sweetness and sorrow; and taken for the moment, he approached Lance and stood on tiptoe… leaving a warm and lasting kiss on his forehead. Lance closed his eyes and gasped, feeling his heart rumble against his chest. Unable to avoid it, a tear trickled down his cheek.

Slowly, Keith walked away from him. He formed a last bright smile, before entering the train with the suitcase, and sit in the carriage that was stood opposite Lance. At that moment, his smile twisted a little. Seeing how Lance moved his hand to say goodbye him, it hurt him. Because that sentiment at a distance, that love that he felt for Lance, at a long distance… couldn't grow, but diminish.

And he _didn’t want_ to hurt Lance.

As the train began to move, Keith placed his hand on the window, and watched as Lance's figure became increasingly distant and small. _Would they ever see each other again? He wanted._ Then, Keith shrank his body, put his other hand to his mouth, he lamented in silence, and wept. And he wondered… if Lance would be crying that way too.

The nightfall, how different it was now. The nightfall, how beautiful and painful it was.

Because it was always darker before dawn.

 

* * *

 

 Fleeting thoughts.

 Yearning glances.

 Latent feelings.

  _And crystal secrets._

This corrupted him inside.

Lance _never_ liked the sign language; but for _Keith,_ he learned it.

Lance _never_ liked the sad sound of the violin; but for _Keith,_ he appreciated it.

His only light was gone from his side; like if the sky of that little village never lit. He knew that wouldn't hear him play the violin anymore; like a violin that lacks its strings. He knew that Keith would never step into his room; like a room in constant silence. And he knew that the train would disappear in the distance; like the end of an endless road.

Lance returned to the beach. Where they met for the first time. Where everything began.

He didn't need to close his eyes to feel the cold water on his feet, even beyond his ankles. But, in the same way, he closed them; he allowed himself to be caught by the freedom of the sea for only a few seconds of peace, flooded by an unbearable pain. Then, he thought of him. In Keith Kogane.

He knew that his heart would have a small crack, which would increase with the passage of time. He knew that his tears would be carried away by the wave that was returning to the sea, and resumed its course by the gentle breeze. He knew that the sun was already hiding on the horizon. And Lance was very sure, that _he_ wouldn't return… soon.

_Would they ever see each other again? Lance wanted._

Because it was always darker before dawn.

 

**· The end ·**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! It was my first Voltron Fic, so―If you find any fault, let me know.


End file.
